High School Dropout Problem

There is absolutely no question that a high school dropout problem exists, but in the United States education seems to be becoming less and less important of a priority in the eyes of many people. Studies have shown that over forty percent of high school students are at risk of dropping out of school without a diploma and twenty-five percent actually do (Lessard et al. Para. 1). “[That means that] every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school in the United States alone. That’s a student every 26 seconds or 7,000 a day” (Dosomething.org Para. 2). This is a huge problem that many people either don’t understand or in my opinion, choose to ignore the problem anyways. Although there are many problems that occur with dropping out …show more content…
Some of the problems include trouble getting good jobs and making a good living. For example, “the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who had not completed high school was roughly $25,000 in 2009. By comparison, the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who completed their education with at least a high school credential, including a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, was approximately $43,000”(Rouse qtd. in US Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics). This could be the difference of $630,000 over the course of someone 's life time. Overall, $25,000 is not a lot of money to live off of and that can lead to a low quality of life for many high school dropouts. Another not so problem that commonly is seen is that high school dropouts have a hard time developing quality relationships with their peers. The reason for this is that a majority of these people get stuck with entry level jobs as their careers. Instead of working with their peers they are working with people much younger than them. This can lead to a sense of disconnect between dropouts and other people their age. These issues are a major problem in the lives of many dropouts and is a slippery slope that can lead to less overall satisfaction with their lives and eventually to depression and anxiety. For example, using data from the National …show more content…
in Tas et al. Para. 1). This is a very big disadvantage for minority groups, because if there are less people to represent them then we aren’t going to make as much progress towards ending racism or even listen to what they have to say if they are not properly educated. This could potentially cause minorities to continue to dropout of high school in the years to